Stop Light
by BanditPonyta
Summary: A lighthearted story about Matt being hit by a van. No, I'm not crazy. I can't believe I wrote another part to this. LOL
1. Stop Light

**Stop Light**

"They need to put a light on this corner," Tai grumbled.

"It won't happen until someone gets run over," Matt said with a sigh.

It was early in the morning and Matt, Tai and Izzy were walking to school together. Unfortunately, the school was across the street. This meant they would have to cross through the intersection, accurately and affectionately nicknamed by the students as 'The Death Trap.'

"You know…there is no actual proof of any student fatalities…" Izzy stated, obviously trying to sound convincing.

"Izzy, you first then," Tai said as a truck rumbled past, ignoring the stop sign. Izzy stayed silent. The trio watched as every single vehicle went speeding by. The only way to get across was to wait for the traffic to lighten up or wait for a car to actually stop in front of the crosswalk.

"This is stupid," Matt grumbled, "Nobody can see the sign, there's a freakin' tree in the way!"

"It would make sense for them to trim the tree." Izzy said with a sigh. Tai groaned and stamped his foot.

"This is the same conversation we have _every _morning!" Tai exclaimed, clearly beginning to reach his limits. "We've been standing on this corner for ten minutes! Someone has to stop!"

Tai's brief rant was met with silence from his two friends. Another loud truck rumbled past.

"Tai is correct. The probability of someone seeing us and stopping is growing…"

"Tai's right, we do have this conversation every morning," Matt said, interrupting Izzy in mid-sentence. "We don't really have a choice though, do we? I'm not willing to risk my life just to get to _school_."

Tai nodded, "It's ridiculous! There should be a stop light." Another minute went by, and every car speed past. One car began to slow down, but only to speed up upon reaching the crosswalk. Matt sighed.

"That's it. I'm going home. School is not worth dieing over," Matt turned and began to walk away. Tai grabbed him by the arm.

"You can't leave! You've already missed too much school this year!" Tai yelled.

"Let go of me Tai," Matt tightened his hands into fists.

"Matt!"

"Tai, let go!"

"I'm going to be late to computer lab," Izzy stated to himself, watching the cars as Matt and Tai argued. Matt was about to swing his fist when Izzy let out a surprised gasp. "That van stopped!"

Tai quickly let go of Matt and darted across the street with Izzy close behind him. Matt reacted late, and quickly began to chase his friends. He was nearly clear of the van when he heard the engine growl to life. There was a flash of red and then everything went dark.

"Matt are you alright? Matt? Matt?" Tai…he sounded upset…

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't know anyone was crossing. I didn't see him…"

"Ma'am, I don't believe you were looking" Izzy's voice….

As far as Matt could tell he hadn't lost consciousness. Everything had gone dark because he had shut his eyes in preparation of being run over.

"Tai?" Matt asked weakly.

"I'm right here, Matt."

"Um…Am I dead?"

"Er…. no."

"Am I bleeding?"

"I don't think so…"

"Any limbs at an odd angle?"

There was a pause, before the answer. "No, Matt.

"Positive?"

"Yes…"

"You didn't sound positive…"

"Matt…"

"Any bones protruding out of my skin?"

"Matt, just open your eyes…"

"Answer the protruding bones question!"

"NO! There aren't any, Matt!"

"Nothing is outside of me that should be inside?"

"…No Matt…"

Very slowly, Matt opened one eye and then the other. He flexed his fingers and then his toes. Nothing was damaged, though his side was a bit sore from being struck by the mini-van. Along with a worried Tai and Izzy there was a very distraught looking women standing in the background. She had her hand to her mouth and was crying, mumbling, "I'm so sorry," over and over again. He slowly sat up and looked around. He was sitting in the crosswalk. Other cars had stopped to stare. Matt had never seen so many cars stopped at this intersection before. He slowly stood up, with Tai's assistance. He felt slightly ill.

"I'm going home," Matt said and then turned and stiffly began to walk away.

"Matt, wait!" Tai shouted. Matt turned and glared at Tai.

"I got hit by a mini-van, Tai! I'm going home."

Tai followed after him, "It was only going like three miles an hour! You were only a foot in front of it!"

"It's…it's the principle of the thing!" Matt shouted angrily.

"Wait, I'll go with you," Tai said, once he realized his friend was serious, "I'll carry your bag, OK?" Up until that moment Matt hadn't realized that he no longer had his school bag. Tai was carrying it. Tai turned to Izzy, who was still standing in the street and shouted back to him, "It's alright, go ahead Izzy," Tai seemed to be at a lost for words, "Just…tell people Matt got hit by a van."

"Don't tell him to tell people that!" Matt hissed angrily.

"Well, it's true," Tai said stubbornly. With that both boys began to walk towards Matt's home. When they were nearly there, Tai began grinning. Soon he was giggling, and then he was laughing out loud. "You…got… hit… by… a …car… going…three…miles… an… hour!" Tai gasped in-between his laughter.

"It's not funny, Tai," Matt said.

"And then…you wouldn't…" Tai stopped, tried to get a hold of himself, "You wouldn't move! You thought you were hurt and you were so scared!" Tai was shaking with his laughter.

"I don't see what's so funny."

"Come on, Matt! We were so worried about the cars not stopping! Then as soon as one does it doesn't see you and…it …hits …you!" Tai was laughing so hard; tears had come to his eyes. Unable to contain himself, a grin began to form on Matt's face. Upon seeing this Tai jumped up and down.

"I thought…I thought you were dead! You were so still!" Tai's laughter reached a new level. "I was so scared! I think my heart stopped!"

"You… you did sound really freaked out back there," Matt said and without thinking about it, he began giggling and soon he was laughing.

"You were so scared!" Matt accused, laughing.

"Yeah! I nearly pissed myself!" Laughter erupted from both of them.

"I thought I was dead!"

"Me too!"

They laughed all the way to Matt's apartment. When they crossed the last street, Tai shouted, "Careful! We might get hit by a slow moving mini-van!" They both whooped at this idea and ran across the street without even looking.

As soon as Matt opened the door to the apartment, the laughter faded. His father wasn't home and the silence seemed to encompass them. Tai even stopped smiling. Matt locked the door behind them. Tai watched Matt as he stared at the door handle and then very slowly Matt slipped to the floor. It looked like a weight had been suddenly dropped on his shoulders. Tai was surprised and hesitant to react. Matt's eyes had begun to tear up, before he could stop himself, he was crying. Worried, Tai knelt down beside Matt.

"What's wrong, Matt?" Tai questioned, putting his hand on Matt's shoulder. Matt made a choking sound, but he would not answer. "Matt, come on. Why are you so upset?"

"I-I'm sorry," Matt stuttered.

"Don't be sorry, Matt."

"I can't help it…I can't stop crying…" Matt said, his voice cracking. Tai didn't know what to do. Matt wasn't usually like this. Unsure of himself, Tai pulled Matt into a sitting position and hugged him. That surprised Matt so much that he stopped crying. "I'm so stupid, I'm sorry," Matt mumbled.

"You're not stupid."

"I'm not like you Tai. I was really scared. I thought…I thought that was it… I laughed with you, but… For a second I thought I was going to die and I was so scared…"

"I'm sorry Matt. I shouldn't have… I was scared too."

"Not as much as me," With that Matt let out a snort, that was almost a laugh. Tai smiled.

"Yes, you were probably more scared than me," Tai said patting Matt on the back. Matt winced.

"Ow, Tai that hurts."

"Sorry," Tai said moving away from Matt.

"I think the mini-van bruised my back…or the fall bruised it."

"Um…I'm going to say the fall, because, truthfully, the ground hit you harder than that van did."

Both boys looked at each other, grinning. Suddenly Matt's phone rang. He grabbed his bag and quickly fumbled through it. "It's T.K." Matt said when he saw the familiar number appear on the phone's screen.

"Hello?"

"Matt?"

"Hi T.K."

"Matt are you…are you…are you…"

"OK?"

"Yes, are you OK?"

"I'm fine." Matt heard what sounded like a sob on the other line.

"T.K. are you OK?"

"Kari said, that Izzy said, that you got hit by a van! Is that true? Are you at the hospital?"

"No, no, no. T.K., calm down. Listen to me. I'm at home. I'm fine, the van wasn't going very fast."

"You're not hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Can I come over to see you after school?"

"If you want to."

"OK, I have to go. Um, I'll see you later. Bye Matt."

"Bye little brother."

As soon as Matt hung up, he glared at Tai.

"What?" Tai asked trying to look innocent.

"Why did you tell Izzy to tell people I was hit by a van? T.K. was really upset!"

"Aw, come on. How many people could he have told?"

Matt's phone rang again, this time it was Matt's father.

"Hello?"

"Matt! What happened? Are you hurt?"

Matt glared at Tai, Tai sheepishly smiled back.

Early in the morning three friends stood on the corner.

"I hear they're calling this, 'Ishida's Crossing' now," Tai said grinning.

"Do you think the cars are going to stop today?" Matt asked.

"I believe they're talking about putting a stop light at this corner," Izzy interjected.

"It won't happen until someone gets run over and killed," Matt said.

"Yeah, too bad that mini-van wasn't going faster," Tai exclaimed.

"Shut up, Tai."

"If only they would trim the tree." Izzy said with a sigh.

"We have this conversation _every_ morning," Tai said. "It's ridiculous! There should be a st--." Suddenly, a mini-van stopped at the crosswalk. The trio didn't move. The driver looked at them, but they didn't budge an inch. Finally Tai shook his head and the driver drove off. There was a moment of silence. Tai cleared his throat. "We'll have another chance. We can cross when… there's…no…van stopped."

Matt exhaled, he had been holding his breath without realizing it.

"Thank you, Tai."

"No problem Matt. What are friends for?"

The End.

A/N: I had a blast writing this. Please excuse any small errors I was really tired when I wrote this, I wrote it all in one setting because this idea was just in my mind and bugging me. I should be writing other stuff, but this Idea wouldn't leave me alone.

I own nothing, Digimon characters are all owned by important people.

Hope you enjoyed it. Please review!


	2. Running With Hedge Clippers

Running with Hedge Clippers

"I want to use the hedge clippers!"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Tai, what in our history together would make me trust you with a sharp object?"

"Aw, come one Matt. I want to help."

"If you want to help, then give me a boost."

It had been a few months since the incident with the minivan and 'Ishida's Crossing' had not become any safer. Tai, Matt and Izzy still found themselves stuck at the corner every morning, waiting for a driver to have mercy and stop at the crosswalk. The boys had finally had enough. Matt had pledged that he would find a way to make the stop sign visible. Tai and Izzy hadn't realized that he was actually serious until he showed up at the crosswalk with a pair of hedge clippers. Now Matt was trying to clip away at the tree's branches that hung in front of the stop sign.

"You want me to boost you up?"

"Well, I can't reach them from down here Tai…. Just get on the ground."

"What?"

"I'll step on your back and that will boost me up enough to reach up there."

"I'm not going to let you step on me Matt."

"Fine, then just put your hands together and boost me that way."

Tai looked unhappy but he laced his fingers together and lowered his arms in preparation of giving Matt a boost. Matt put one foot into Tai's hands and, carefully balancing with the hedge clippers in one hand, he leaned all his weight into Tai. Tai lifted him up, trying not to drop him into the street. Izzy stood by the whole time, looking worried.

"Perhaps we should consider what would be the safest way…" Izzy started, only to get cut off mid-sentence.

"Izzy, go stand over there and tell me when you can see the sign clearly," Matt grunted, struggling to maintain his balance without dropping the clippers. Izzy did as he was told, but he glanced worriedly to Matt to the street's pavement below him. Tai tried to shift his weight in an effort to not drop his friend. Matt grabbed Tai's shoulder with his left hand.

"Tai, what are you doing?"

"Trying not to drop you. You're heavier then you look you know. Maybe you should boost me up instead."

"I'm not giving you the clippers Tai," Matt said as he attempted to clip at the branches. After much struggling, a few leaves and twigs fell to the ground near Tai's feet. Matt took a deep breath. "…uh…. Can you see the sign yet?"

"What do you mean? You only clipped off two leaves. Of course you can't see the sign yet!"

"I wasn't talking to you, Tai."

Izzy tilted his head to the side, "It is not yet visible…" Izzy stated, "But there are vehicles stopping."

"What!" Tai and Matt asked simultaneously. They both looked over and there were actually vehicles slowing down and pausing at the crosswalk. "Do they see the sign?" Matt asked.

"I think they're just stopping to see what you two are doing," Izzy replied.

"Of course," Matt muttered. The clipping went on for a few more minutes until Matt actually managed to cut off one of the smaller branches.

"Matt… I'm losing my grip…" Tai said in a strained voice.

"Just one more minute…"

"Matt! I can't hold you anymore!"

"One second!" Matt yelled, struggling to cut off another branch. However the struggle with the tree had been waging for a few minutes now, and Matt's hands were sweating from the work. The clippers were getting difficult to hold on to. Suddenly, a whistle rang out through the air and Matt lost his balance as Tai lost his grip. As Matt fell the clippers slipped out of his hand and began to fall towards the ground. Matt made a desperate attempt to grab them in the air… his hand flew out and grasped the object. Half of a second later, Matt's back was hitting the grass and dirt that surrounded the tree. He was dazed for a moment, the wind knocked out of him. Tai had fallen over and was trying to catch his breath as well.

As Matt tried to breathe normally he became aware of two things. The first thing was that some stranger had just whistled at him. The second was that his hand was beginning to hurt… a lot. Matt swore and shut his eyes.

"Matt are you alright?" Izzy asked in concern. Matt didn't say anything... the hedge clippers… he had grabbed them by the wrong end. _Good one Ishida…_Matt thought.

"Matt… you're bleeding," Tai said with concern and panic beginning to creep into his voice, "Matt… God… Matt let go of them!"

Matt felt Tai hitting his arm in desperation and Matt loosened his grip. Somehow, that seemed to make it hurt worse. Pain shot up Matt's arm and he swore again.

"What-What do we do? What do we do?" Tai asked desperately, breathing quickly.

"We… we… need to get him to a hospital… Wait… no the school, we can take him to the nurse. She'll know what to do." Izzy was faltering trying to remain calm as it became apparent that Tai was acting as if he might hyperventilate or pass out. "He should sit up," Izzy added.

Tai leaned forward and helped pull Matt into a sitting position. Matt's eyes slowly opened and he looked at his right hand. He couldn't tell how badly he was cut there was blood just seeping out of his hand. He had never seen anything like it. He felt dizzy from hitting his head on the ground. Tai and Izzy were talking hurriedly about how to get across the street of death and their voices seemed far away as Matt reached up with his left hand and touched the back of his head. He jerked and pulled his hand back. There was blood on there.

"I'm bleeding…" he murmured in shock. Tai look at him and then at his cut up hand.

"I know Matt. You're bleeding a lot…" Tai said worriedly. There was a pause where Matt tried to fight the urge to pass out. He put his hand to the back of his head again.

"I mean… here… I'm hurt… there's… on my…" Matt was having difficulty not panicking and therefore wasn't finding it easy to finish his sentences. Tai's eyes widened as he realized what Matt meant.

"Your head is bleeding?" Tai and Izzy both shuffled around and looked at the back of Matt's hair. Amongst the blonde strands was a stain of red. Tai drew in a sharp breath and Izzy stood up.

"I'm going to the school, I'll bring the nurse out here," Izzy said in a tight sounding voice.

"Wait," Matt suddenly spoke up, "you can't. My dad will kill me."

"What are you talking about?" Tai asked concerned about why Matt would suddenly bring up his father.

"They're his hedge clippers…and… and he told me I wasn't allowed to use them."

"Why not?" Tai asked.

"He was worried I would get hurt," Matt said as blood from his hand spilled onto his pants.

"Oh," Tai choked out as he watched the stain spread across Matt's knee. There was a pause and then Izzy sighed.

"I'm sorry Matt, but you need help. I'll get the nurse. Tai will stay with you."

Before anyone could argue, Izzy dashed across the street. Cars honked angrily and Matt heard the screech of tires.

"That's the bravest thing I've ever seen Izzy do," Tai said quietly. There was silence for a moment as Matt bleed freely. "We should probably wrap your hand in something," Tai said.

"I have a handkerchief in my bag," Matt said quietly, motioning to his school bag that he had abandoned near the curb earlier that morning. Tai retrieved it and then set to work wrapping it around Matt's hand. The blood quickly seeped through and Tai looked like he was going to be sick.

"You owe me a new jacket," he mumbled as he noticed the blood that had dripped on his sleeve. Matt just sighed and shut his eyes. "Does it hurt a lot?" Tai questioned.

Matt opened his eyes and looked at Tai directly. "I think it looks worse than it is, but… yeah, it hurts a lot… What am I going to tell my dad?" Matt asked to nobody in particular.

Tai paused and tilted his head to the side. "Tell him you were running with scissors." Tai said with a grin spreading across his face. "Tell him you were attacked by muggers… or hit by another minivan."

Matt snorted, "I guess I could just blame you…"

"Hey!" Tai protested.

"You were the one that dropped me…"

"No, you're the one that lost his balance because some guy whistled at you."

Matt paused and looked at his uninjured hand. "It _was_ a guy… the one who whistled?"

Tai nodded watching Matt carefully for a reaction. Matt sighed and rubbed his face with his left hand. Matt shook his head. "…Why me?" he whispered under his breath.

"You're too pretty for your own good…"

"I am not 'pretty', Tai."

"OK, OK… but of the two of us, you're the only one that has ever been mistaken for a girl."

"That was a long time ago! You know, you're lucky I'm in too much pain to punch you."

Tai then took off his jacket and used the sleeve to put pressure on Matt's cut hand.

"You don't have to do that, Tai."

Tai simply smiled back at his friend. He continued grinning until Matt smiled back. Tai then looked up to see Izzy coming their way with the school nurse.

"Here comes Izzy."

Matt sighed.

"Don't worry about your Dad, you can tell him it was my idea if that helps."

"Thanks Tai."

"Don't worry about it."

"No, really thanks."

"Don't be too thankful towards me, you still owe me a new jacket."

The end... or is it...?

A/N: Bleh… this kind of… wasn't good…. Wasn't what I wanted anyway. I'm so tired. I have been wanting to write some little continuation of Stop Light for a long time. Ever since Jedi Takeru said: "Why doesn't Izzy/Tai/Matt/Joe/TK/Kari/Mimi/Mr. Fujiyama/another student/Mimi get some hedge clippers? We have some around here, I'd be glad to donate..."

Thank you for that little bit of inspiration. I know Stop Light is supposed to be a one shot…. But the hedge clipper idea wouldn't leave me alone. I had to write something. Anyway, thanks for the inspiration everyone. I may write more to this. If I feel inspired enough.

Also note: you may have noticed that these little stories are pretty pointless… I ask you, why must everything have a point? They're meant to be little bits of writing with little to no plot. I had fun writing it and that is all I wanted.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I don't even own the hedge clippers… those belong to Jedi Takeru.


End file.
